Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma

Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma (11 September 1891-30 April 1948) was a General der Panzertruppe of the German Wehrmacht who commanded the 20th Panzer Division and the Afrika Korps during World War II.

Biography
Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma was born on 11 September 1891 in Dachau, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire, and he served in the Imperial German Army during the campaigns against the Russian Empire and Serbia during World War I. Von Thoma was ennobled for bravery during the war, and he would remain in the Reichswehr after the war. He also served in the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War, and he commanded panzer forces during Operation Barbarossa in the Soviet Union. In September 1942, he was given command of the Afrika Korps after Walther Nehring was injured, and he led the corps during the Second Battle of El Alamein in the autumn of 1942. Nehring was captured by the British Army on 4 November 1942, and he had excellent relations with his caprots; he was even invited to dine with Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. Von Thoma wrote about the war, claiming that he was ashamed to have been an officer during the Russian campaign, and that the Italians in North Africa were good workers, but not good soldiers. He died of a heart attack in Dachau in 1948, dying at the age of 56.